Chapter 14: A Showcase to Remember, part 2

Serena walked back to the main foyer, with her head high. She had won. No one was back yet, so she decided to capitalize on that, getting all her stuff together beforehand. She reached into her bag, pulling out her note she got. She haddn't opened it yet, but she could feel she knew what this was about.

Only something was different about the note. She looked into her bag to see if there was one she recognized, and sure enough, there was. Huh, weird, she thought to herself. And took careful time opening the note she got. She couldn't recognize the handwriting, but she knew of the looks of very little people's handwriting. It read:

See me at the Anistar Pokemon Center when you get a chance

Serena turned a very dark red, and couldn't help but squealing with excitement. After all this time of waiting, he was going to tell her how he felt. She could just tell. Although now another question struck her. What's in the other note? Her name was written on it, so she assumed it was for her. She opened it, looking very confused.

Meet me behind the Showcase area. Before you get to Him ;)

Him was capitalized. Did whoever wrote this know? Was she not as understanding as she was before? What was all this just a prank from Miette? Now Serena just wanted answers. She wanted to go see who she suspected to be Ash first, before going to see who she suspected to be, uh, who knows? Bonnie? Miette?

She started to make her way back to the the back of Anistar Showcase Center. It wasn't a common meeting place, but it was one that was well-known enough for people to find easily. It was typically used to make a quick exit after a busy showcase like this one. Finally, there they were. The people, crowding her to congratulate her on her second win this season.

"Serena, how do you never fail to please us?"

"Serena, where are you going next?"

"Serena, is it true you and Ash Ketchum were seen at night last night, hugging?"

That last one caught her off guard, and she turned bright red. How did people know about this so quickly? She realized these people wouldn't leave, and she had places to be. This wasn't any time to be messing around with reporters who wouldn't see her until next showcase. She decided that it would be the most efficient for everyone to just answer the questions. "Ok, one at a time. First, I practice a lot, and my friends always support me." She was making up answers on the spot, which is harder than most people think. "Second, I plan on going to Laverre City to compete in a Showcase there, and partake in the festival there. And finally, yes, I was nervous and needed some help. Who told you that anyway?"

As she asked that last question, she saw a blue-haired trainer walk behind all the cameras, catch Serena's eye, wink, and run off. "Miette," she said with a low roar so no one else could hear it. "Now," she addressed everyone. "I have some friends I'd like to meet. If you want to talk, see me tomorrow." She knew that was the one way to get them off her back. No reporter is eager enough to fish up a story the day after a showcase. They need to get to the next available one as quickly as possible.

Serena started going to the back. After that very strange encounter, she was ready for just about anything at this point. She wasn't sure this day could get any weirder. She walked out to the backstage area. It was small, but large enough to talk to three of four people. There was a staircase going upstairs by a door, which led outside. Serena didn't see anyone there. She was confused. This is what most people mean by "Backstage Area". She tried calling out. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Ok, Flabebe that's enough. No more Fairy Wind."

Serena looked over to see a chair that was not there before. The chair was occupied. By Shauna. Shauna looked very upset. "Serena I-"

"What were you thinking?" Serena cried out. Suddenly Shauna started to cry. Serena realized the harshness of her tone. She stopped. She didn't mean to do this to her friend, now curled up in a ball. Serena sat down next to Shauna, and put her arm around her. Shauna turned a shade of bright pink, which Serena noticed immediately. "Uh, Shauna, I'm sorry for yelling. But really, why did you-"

"Because, be-because, be-because you told me to do it!"

Serena was flat out confused. She didn't remember saying 'imitate me and you'll be good to go.' "But Shauna, I never said it was a bad thing. I think the audience got the wrong vibe. They probably thought it as a romantic attempt or something as opposed to an act of friendship." Shauna got really red, which prompted Serena that something is terribly wrong, or what she said was completely inaccurate. "Shauna, if something's wrong, you can tell me."

Shauna got red. "I can't, really. You would get md at me. More than you are already."

Serena was starting to clue in on what was truly going on. She remembered to the first time she met Shauna. Shauna was such a big fan of her, for something Serena hardly remembered doing. When she called out Fennekin that day, she was so happy. Every time Serena was with her, she seemed happy. When she lost to Serena in Master Class Semi-finals, she was the person she ran to for support. All she needed to do was get Shauna to say it, to confirm it. All Serena had to do was to just, not get mad. "Shauna, really, it's okay, if you're sad or upset, just let me know what's wrong. I can't help you if I don't know what it is."

Shauna was ready to collapse. Then she did, onto Serena's shoulder. She started crying. A lot. Serena wasn't ready for something like this. She's dealt with sad Bonnie before, which was typically dealt with by calling Ash over so she could pet Pikachu. Ash. Serena thought about her crush. He was waiting for him, so she thought. It was likely. She heard him in the woods, saying something about a chance. She was really banking on that. But right now she had a human on her shoulders. Serena lifted her up, and looked into her eyes. Shauna was absolutely upset, driven to near-insanity. "Shauna, please, just tell me."

Shauna took a deep breath. "D-do you remember, before I went out today, when you said to, to do whatever my heart tells me to?"

Serena was right so far. "Yes, I do. But-"

Shauna kept going. Serena realized that if she stopped her she might not say it. She just really wanted this to be dealt with quick. Not because she wanted Shauna to be completely rejected, but because she had to meet with Ash. But Shauna continued. "Well, all my heart thought of, was, was," She took a deep breath, and looked up into Serena's eyes.. "Was you."

There it was. Serena just needed Shauna to get everything off her chest here, so she could feel safe again. Also she was actually on Serena's chest. Felt weird. "I'm not sure I understand…"

"When we first met, you had no idea who I was, but you still welcomed me with open arms. You were so nice to me. When I saw you on Pokevision, I just had to find you, and when I did, I was so excited. You were even nicer than I thought you were. And then, you decided to start competing in Showases. I said I wanted to come along, and you let me. Nothing in the world was stopping me from being with the person I wanted to be with the most. I only ever went back to Trevor and Tierno because you would have caught on."

Serena was about to get her final confirmation. "Caught on to what?"

Shauna knew Serena wasn't this oblivious. As much as she hated it, she knew Serena's crush wasn't her. But she knew that if he had an ability, it would have been oblivious. Shauna decided to try one last thing to sway things her way. "Well, I don't expect an answer immediately, but if you ever want to tell me whether or not you feel the same, I'd be thrilled." Shauna seemed more confident now, she got up, without really answering Serena's question.

But Serena needed confirmation. She needed to know if she was dealing with what she thought it was. She got up and started to follow Shauna. "But Shauna, catch on to what?"

Shauna looked at her. She inhaled, and put her hands on Serena's shoulders. "Just, just let me know eventually. If you feel the same."

She leaned in. Serena knew where this was going, but she knew if she pulled away, Shauna would start to cry again. She didn't have time for that. Ash was waiting. She just closed her eyes, and pictured her knight in shining armor, waiting for her over at Anistar Pokemon Center. Shauna kept going. Eventually, after what felt like a year, for both of them, their lips collided. Shauna held her there for around 15 seconds, then released her slowly.

Then she ran away.

Serena stood there. She felt like something inside her was about to explode in anger, but she knew she couldn't handle wasted time like that. She had one priority left, and she was going to see him. Now.

Serena made her way out of the Anistar Showcase Center. She looked outside. It was nearing sunset. Ash must have been waiting there for ages. Serena looked around. Anistar Pokemon Center was this way, Serena thought. She ran as fast as she could. She walked into the Pokemon Center. She gave the note to the Nurse Joy working there. "Hm," she said. "I didn't see a boy here since, like, 3-ish."

Serena looked at the clock. It was 5 now. She ran to the back of the Pokemon Center to see if anyone was there.

She made it to the back, and paced around the room. No one. She went outside, and saw two shadows around the corner. She ran over to them.

It was only Clemont and Bonnie.

"Oh!" Bonnie said. "Um, you came back."

Serena was confused. "Why wouldn't I?"

Clemont was uneasy too. "Well, you went to see Shauna afterward, right?"

Serena thought back to the incident that just went down with Shauna. She didn't understand how it happened, but what she really wanted to know was how they know. "Uh, yeah, but I came back, of course. How did you know that? And where's Ash?"

Clemont and Bonnie were uneasy still. "Well, we don't know, and we can pinpoint his location." Clemont went on. "He's off somewhere with, uh, what's her name."

"Who?" Serena demanded.

Bonnie answered quietly. "Her name's uh, Miette."

Serena looked at the two, then left.

Notes:

I didn't expect this story to flop like it did, but it ended up being too much to write. I apologize to anyone who was interested in this. It was a great experience so far, so why would I stop?

Truthfully, after actually watching the xy/xyz series I could easily point out many inaccuracies throughout each chapter. Even aside from that, the chapters were choppy, poorly formatted and overall extremely rough to write. I considered many options throughout this story (including Miette committing suicide but I decided against it).

So what's next? I'll continue writing The Secret Mega and I plan on starting some sort or school AU Amourshipping fic. That will be out in like a month from now, so if you're down for that be on the lookout.

I will upload one final chapter to (sort of?) wrap things up, and well, that will be the end. I was expecting this to be over 40 chapters of incredible, and I'm pretty sad it ended up flopping. Guess that's what I get for going on uneducated.

Please read Too Much though I think that one's pretty good.

-Tempo